How to use your real-life cat to automatically boost your Pokémon’s stats in Sword and Shield【Vid】

No time to spend time playing with your Pokémon during camping sessions? Genius Japanese gamer figures out how to have your actual kitty do it instead.

The Pokémon video game franchise doesn’t get enough credit for is how hard it tries to please both fans who want deep play mechanics and those who are just there to hang out with all the adorable cuddly creatures. For example, Pokémon Sword and Shield, the newest paired games in the series, include the option to camp with your Pokémon, and after you’ve pitched the tent, you can play with them while they scamper about the campground.

The play sessions are interactive, as you can use the right analog stick/motion sensor to wave around a cat teaser-like Pokémon play wand, which you companions will cheerfully swat and strike like a playful kitty. But this doesn’t just warm the human gamer’s heart, it also increases the Pokémon’s in-game Friendship stat, which in turn gives it all sorts of enhanced capabilities in combat.

These campground play sessions are fun the first few times, but eventually they can get kind of tedious. You catch a ton of different Pokémon (who all need playtime) during the course of the game, and you have to shake the stick/controller, because if you leave it still, you won’t get the creature’s attention and it won’t play.

Still, playtime is critical if you want those stat boosts, so we’re happy to report that Japanese Twitter user @HhotateA_xR has figured out a way to automate the teaser toy play sessions!

ポケモンのなつき度を自動で上げるシステム作りました #ポケモン剣盾 https://t.co/2tETvnz7oL

—
ほたてねこまじん🐾にゃんにゃん (@HhotateA_xR) December 15, 2019

The method is:
1. Select “camp” from the menu.
2. Remove right Joy-Con controller from the Switch console.
3. Attach Joy-Con to a cord hanging from the ceiling.
4. Let your real-life pet cat use it as a swatting toy, so that each swipe triggers the motion sensor and shakes the in-game Pokémon.

As shown in the video, the cat’s movements translate into controller inputs that quickly catch the attention of the in-game Rotom, who then mock attacks the Pokémon teaser toy, successfully raising its friendship stat.

@HhotateA_xR’s innovative gaming of the game system attracted online praise and puns in the form of:

“You’re simultaneously raising your friendship levels with Rotom and your cat!”
“Auto-catic.”
“Meow-tion control.”
“That’s some high-level gameplay right there.”
“Truly there is no higher power than cuteness.”

Of course, following this strategy does present the problem of turning one of your toys (your Joy-Con) into a toy for your cat, but hey, learning to share the controller and take turns playing is something that could probably use a bit of a comeback in today’s massively multiplayer online game era.

Source: Twitter/@HhotateA_xR via Hachima Kiko
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